MBB: Duke 88, Delaware 50 Post-Game Thread

[pfrduke]

Post your thoughts here

And props to Zafirovski for getting on the board.

[mr. synellinden]

Post your thoughts here

And props to Zafirovski for getting on the board.

Delaware can take solace in the fact they only did 6 points worse than UNC.

[Dukeblue91]

Nice game and nice to have just about everyone play and score too.

[devildeac]

Funniest thing was seeing the ads for Hardee's chicken tender combo meals as we devoured/carved up/roasted/broiled/grilled the Blue Hens. One early complaint: too many fowls called on us.

[DukeGirl4ever]

Loved seeing Amile and Murph step up off the bench. They looked in rhythm out there.

If anyone can find me a picture of the "Mason Plumlee for Heisman" poster, I would appreciate it! That was classic!

[Festus]

Nice game and great to see Andre Dawkins sitting behind the bench with his engaging smile.

[FerryFor50]

Love the bench contribution, but I'm not sure how much we can make out of it because Delaware was extremely overmatched.

However, it does build confidence - both for the players and for the coaches in the players' ability to perform in-game.

Alex looked good after starting out shaky. Amile looked good throughout but needs to build some strength.

Happy to see that we're developing depth!

[Saratoga2]

Absolute beat down by Duke, without Seth available and with the subs playing a large part of the game. I had thought the subs would get a lot of PT in this portion of the schedule and it certainly was the case today. Even Todd got 5 minutes and 2 points.

As far as player of the game, it is probably Mason, who did it all today. On the other hand, Ryan was a scoring machine out there and Rasheed was great.

Rasheed is amazingly quick and could easily be a PG, he is that good with the ball and getting it to players in scoring position. He is also a slasher, an outside shooter and an excellent defender. What a great addiiton he is right now to Duke.

Hairston showed he is capable of giving meaningful minutes this year.

Our defense was too much for Delaware, with the guards putting so much pressure on their ball handlers.

The big unknown was how would our bench players Amile and Alex do. We saw today they are very good indeed. Despite his slender frame, Amile was in their fighting for the ball and he was scoring off of a lot of inside plays. How many points did he get? I know it was well into double figures. Even our subs were too much for Delaware.

Then there was Alex who seemed to energize, like the bunny, once he put in his first Duke points. That block said it all. The guy is quick and athletic, fought for rebounds and showed he can score when he plays freely

[loran16]

Funniest thing was seeing the ads for Hardee's chicken tender combo meals as we devoured/carved up/roasted/broiled/grilled the Blue Hens. One early complaint: too many fowls called on us.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Couldn't watch the game, but loved seeing the reserves not only do well, but add greatly to the lead after the starters left. Good show guys.

[CDu]

Absolute beat down by Duke, without Seth available and with the subs playing a large part of the game. I had thought the subs would get a lot of PT in this portion of the schedule and it certainly was the case today. Even Todd got 5 minutes and 2 points.

As far as player of the game, it is probably Mason, who did it all today. On the other hand, Ryan was a scoring machine out there and Rasheed was great.

Rasheed is amazingly quick and could easily be a PG, he is that good with the ball and getting it to players in scoring position. He is also a slasher, an outside shooter and an excellent defender. What a great addiiton he is right now to Duke.

Hairston showed he is capable of giving meaningful minutes this year.

Our defense was too much for Delaware, with the guards putting so much pressure on their ball handlers.

The big unknown was how would our bench players Amile and Alex do. We saw today they are very good indeed. Despite his slender frame, Amile was in their fighting for the ball and he was scoring off of a lot of inside plays. How many points did he get? I know it was well into double figures. Even our subs were too much for Delaware.

Then there was Alex who seemed to energize, like the bunny, once he put in his first Duke points. That block said it all. The guy is quick and athletic, fought for rebounds and showed he can score when he plays freely

Agree with everything but the Hairston comments. He did get 6 rebounds, but he fouled out in 11 minutes against a mediocre opponent. Not that he was terrible or anything, but I wouldn't have come away from today's game saying Hairston showed he is capable of meaningful minutes this year (at least not from this game).

Loved the way Sulaimon played. I had a discussion a few days ago with someone who felt Sulaimon was a bit of a "black hole" when the ball found his hands. I disagreed then, and I especially disagree after today's game. He had some terrific looks.

[Dukeblue91]

Agree with everything but the Hairston comments. He did get 6 rebounds, but he fouled out in 11 minutes against a mediocre opponent. Not that he was terrible or anything, but I wouldn't have come away from today's game saying Hairston showed he is capable of meaningful minutes this year (at least not from this game).

Loved the way Sulaimon played. I had a discussion a few days ago with someone who felt Sulaimon was a bit of a "black hole" when the ball found his hands. I disagreed then, and I especially disagree after today's game. He had some terrific looks.

How can anyone think that he is a black hole?
He has always showed a willingness to share the ball since being at Duke.

[Phoenix22]

Sulaimon The Magnificent

[HDB]

23 assists today (on 35 made baskets). I know Delaware was a pretty weak opponent but that is mighty impressive and continues a trend that we're seeing with regularity this year (and rarely, if ever, saw last year).

[Olympic Fan]

Easy to dismiss this beatdown because it was just Delaware ...

But these guys are not horrible. They beat Virginia in Charlottesville, They lost to Kansas State by three points in Madison Square Garden. They lost to Temple at Temple by five.

They were the No. 2 preseason pick in the Colonial Athletic . This is a veteran (except for their freshman PG, who was overwhelmed), talented team.

Not saying a top 25 opponent or anything, but this was a solid mid-major (they'll probably be in the top 100 of the RPI tomorrow).

Duke made them look like a bunch of clowns -- that's more a reflection on how well Duke played than how weak Delaware is or is not.

It was a seriously impessive win.

[kostar]

Nice game and great to see Andre Dawkins sitting behind the bench with his engaging smile.

Yess! It was great to see Andre at the game behind the bench smiling! It was said in different articles and such that he might stay away from the games for this season, to help deal with the getting everything together again. It's great to see that kids bright smile! I hope he's doing well! Can't wait to see that stroke back on the Cameron hardwood next season!

[sagegrouse]

23 assists today (on 35 made baskets). I know Delaware was a pretty weak opponent but that is mighty impressive and continues a trend that we're seeing with regularity this year (and rarely, if ever, saw last year).

Another credit to our defense: Delaware had only three assists on 18 buckets. That's a 17 percent assist to FG percentage.

I think everyone, including K, is pleased he was able to play everyone and that Amile and Alex had long enough runs to develop some comfort on offense.

sagegrouse

[wallyman]

Great to see both of them get the minutes and have the impact. Amile is really long and active, reminds me of Cornbread Maxwell -- to go way back.
Alex looked really good too and as good as the game was seeing the team leave the court with Ryan's arm draped around Alex's shoulder and both of them with huge smiles on their face. Missed seeing Andre but great that he was there too. Oh, and that Rasheed fellow seems to have some potential, too. He's gonna be a monster.

[devildeac]

Funniest thing was seeing the ads for Hardee's chicken tender combo meals as we devoured/carved up/roasted/broiled/grilled the Blue Hens. One early complaint: too many fowls called on us.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Couldn't watch the game, but loved seeing the reserves not only do well, but add greatly to the lead after the starters left. Good show guys.

Well, at least there weren't too many cheep (sic) ones this afternoon.

[wallyman]

Well, at least there weren't too many cheep (sic) ones this afternoon.

And Todd got in the ESPN game highlight clips! How cool.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Fun game today, and so many positives for this team! Great defense, solid offense, and Murphy and Jefferson got some serious burn! (That's playing time for the uninitiated ) So nice that Murph FINALLY scored his first career points, and then went on to get 10! And Amile showed quick, intelligent moves around the basket, completing many of them for points! He was able to recognize an opening to the basket, and capitalize on it! So nice to see in a freshman. How many times have we complained about (young, and not so young) big men not being able to put it in the hoop when opportunities were there? He's going to be a stud for us as he matures and gains strength.